Opinion
No. 05-19-00178-CR
02-24-2020
TRADAREON JAMEL CHOICE, Appellant v. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee
On Appeal from the Criminal District Court No. 6 Dallas County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. F17-75538-X
ORDER
Before Justices Myers, Whitehill, and Pedersen
This case was submitted on February 18, 2020 after appellate counsel Sharita Blacknall filed an Anders brief. An Anders brief is a brief filed in support of an appointed attorney's motion to withdraw from an appeal that the attorney has concluded, after conscientious examination of the entire record, is a frivolous appeal. Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 744 (1967). After reviewing the record and the brief on file in this appeal, the Court has concerns about appellate counsel's decision to file an Anders brief. Therefore, we have decided to hear argument from the parties in this appeal.
We DIRECT the Clerk to remove this case from the February 18, 2020 submission docket.
The above cause is now set for submission with oral argument on March 26, 2020 at 2:00 p.m. in the Court of Appeals, Fifth District of Texas at Dallas, in its courtroom on the second floor of the George L. Allen, Sr. Courts Building located at 600 Commerce Street, Dallas, Texas 75202. The panel hearing the case will consist of Justice Myers, Justice Whitehill, and Justice Pedersen, subject to change by the Court. The parties are advised that although argument is typically limited to twenty minutes to each side with a five-minute rejoinder for appellant, the Court may suspend those time limitations to meet its needs in this case.
Appellate counsel Sharita Blacknall has twenty-four criminal appeals currently pending before the Court. Ms. Blacknall filed a brief on the merits in one case and has not yet filed a brief in four appeals. In the remaining appeals, Ms. Blacknall has filed Anders briefs. These include:
Frank Paul Celaya v. State Issaac Matthew Jimenez v. State Jimmy Earl Shelly v. State Jimmy Earl Shelly v. State Joseph Glen Robinson v. State Joseph Glen Robinson v. State Joseph Glen Robinson v. State Joseph Glen Robinson v. State Tradareon Jamel Choice v. State Edward Lamar Porter v. State Lavar Devon Taylor v. State Gerald Munoz Montano v. State John Francis Walsh III v. State Cesar Navarro v. State James Jackson v. State James Jackson v. State Brandon Charles Sampson v. State Xavior Devon Collier v. State Xavior Devon Collier v. State
| 05-18-00391-CR | Possession contr. subst. |
| 05-18-00848-CR | Agg. sexual assault child |
| 05-19-00053-CR | Agg. sexual assault child |
| 05-19-00054-CR | Cont. sexual abuse child |
| 05-19-00138-CR | Agg. robbery deadly weapon |
| 05-19-00139-CR | Agg. robbery deadly weapon |
| 05-19-00140-CR | Agg. robbery deadly weapon |
| 05-19-00141-CR | Agg. robbery deadly weapon |
| 05-19-00178-CR | Murder |
| 05-19-00194-CR | Agg. robbery |
| 05-19-00212-CR | Agg. assault deadly weapon |
| 05-19-00463-CR | Eng. org. crim. act. murder |
| 05-19-00710-CR | Agg. sexual assault |
| 05-19-00785-CR | Agg. sexual assault child |
| 05-19-00887-CR | Robbery |
| 05-19-00888-CR | Robbery |
| 05-19-00987-CR | Murder |
| 05-19-01319-CR | Agg. robbery deadly weapon |
| 05-19-01320-CR | Evading arrest |
The focus of the March 26, 2020 argument will be on the propriety of filing an Anders brief in this seven-day murder trial tried to a jury. Nevertheless, the Court reserves the right to raise general questions about the other cases on appeal.
We ORDER appellate counsel Sharita Blacknall to appear and present oral argument at the above mentioned date, time, and place.
We DIRECT the Clerk to send a copy of this order via electronic transmission to the Honorable Jeanine Howard, Presiding Judge, Criminal District Court No. 6; to counsel Sharita Blacknall; and to the Dallas County District Attorney. We also DIRECT the Clerk to send a copy of the order to Sharita Blacknall via certified mail at the address listed for counsel in our records.
/s/ LANA MYERS
PRESIDING JUSTICE